Category: Youngsters

Guys have been told how a real man should behave. In a few words: never cry because it shows you’re weak, act brave and be strong. Since decades feminism has ruled the lives of a bunch of women in different forms, because we as feminists are as smart and strong as they are, right? Being vulnerable is something, which has actually never made it into an official dictionary. It has been concealed. But not anymore. Girls and boys start feeling comfortable sharing their real inner softness and struggles. Influencers and brands are inspiring them. With pleasure.

Pictures of pink flowery tattoos and ties didn’t stay unnoticed on Instagram the past couple of months. Also the music video Cranes in the Sky of Solange shares an overload of softness: the movements, the colours (yeah of course I’m talking about pink) and also the voice. It’s harmonious. Solange shares a story of fighting depression: “It’s like cranes in the sky. Sometimes I don’t wanna feel those metal clouds.” The lyrics are vulnerable, and the music video of Solange says “showing your inner softness is the right thing to do”.

AXE’s old fashioned masculinity changed into modern masculinity

But this is not the only reason radical softness is the new strength. Brands are also happy to share sensitive ads. Last May AXE came up with their new advertisement with hashtag #itisokforguys. Once it was a brand focussing on the stereotype man: the handsome, strong and attractive guy everyone wanted to be. Now it has radically changed their point of view: it is okay to be who you are, including your sensitivity, softness and insecurities. Axe even introduced their own YouTube channel where influencers were asking their “Is it ok for guys to..”-question. Like: “Is it ok for guys to drink soy milk“ and “Is it ok for guys to be the little spoon?“ Personally, as being a woman, I would like to answer these questions. Of course! I would like to order two soy-caps for some good energy, and when it’s completely out of our systems my sleeping beauty is allowed to be the little spoon. No doubt about that.

Youngsters admire the softness of brands

Beside Axe there are more brands focussing on the candy floss-softness. For example the barber shop Baxter of California. The company published their Life Lived True campaign. It’s about men and woman living in a land of dreamers. “True Angelenos live life according to nobody’s rules. They embrace individuality, and we embrace them. Because venturing beyond the ordinary is in our DNA.”

The evolution of the marketing rules for the male has changed radically the past couple of years. Softness and transparency about the real identity is above pretending to be some stereotype masculine guy. Modern masculinity is nothing else than pure softness and tenderness.

The time has arrived: Youngsters start waking up early in the morning to go to a dance party on a weekday, more specifically: Daybreaker. And when I say early, it means very early. The party starts about 6:30 AM. Alcoholic drinks make room for juices and healthy snacks, which make you probably wondering if everyone is sober?! Yes. Sober as fuck.

A community with a strong desire for freedom

It all started early 2014 in New York City. Radha Agrawal and Matthew Brimer started a social experiment in the basement of a NYC coffee shop, where they wanted to connect a small group of people who want to make something out of live. Today it has conquered seventeen metropolitan cities worldwide, like Washington DC, Toronto, Dubai, Istanbul and Melbourne, and in my opinion it is legal to conclude they have started a true movement. Amsterdam is the next big city where Youngsters will move their body after a good night of sleep before the sun has even touched the horizon. 23 August the first edition will take place in club Nyx. Entrance tickets are available as from 21,50 euros.

To truly wake up you kick off with a one hour yoga and fitness experience, and afterwards the freestyle dance party will take place for about two hours. During these hours it is all about self-expression, mindfulness, camaraderie, wellness and mischief. Daybreaker aims to give the Youngsters the feeling to be free and move in the way they feel comfortable. Shame shouldn’t be part of this dance floor. So judging isn’t part of it as well. Obviously.

Youngsters are seeking for health and happiness

Anyway, the movement of waking up early to go to a party where everyone is sober is pretty interesting. Wellness, health and happiness have become ruling values for this generation in the past decade. For example a regular sleep cycle has become more important, because everything you do, you do better with a good night of sleep. That’s why it is less interesting for Youngsters to party until the sun comes up. Instead, the party starts when the sun starts rising.

Look for example at the Danish Hygge trend, which has become popular. Youngsters stay in during the weekend, and invite friends for home-made cakes and hot chocolate. This evening can come to an end at a reasonable time, while the bar in the city has just opened its doors. A growing number of Youngsters decide to miss that party, without regretting it. So FOMO (Fear of missing out) doesn’t play part. The desire for connectivity with likeminded people, without pretending to be someone else can be found in the Daybreaker concept as well. It is about who you are, not who others want you to be.

Form of escapism?

Fun and happiness are important ingredients in the lives of the youngsters. While the world is filled with fear, anger and horror, the desire for moments of freedom, happiness and fun are even more important. I’m not talking about fake fun, which can be found on a large scale on social media, but true fun. I’m talking about honesty, transparency and self-acceptation, which lead to true happiness. You might call this party an escapism towards a surreal world where all the uncomfortable happenings of today don’t exist for a moment, but is that a bad thing?

It has a reason that we started singing “Girls they wanna have fun” in 1983, and never stopped. Okay, you’re probably right. Guys too. But the only difference is that the fun part not only starts when the working day is done. It starts as soon as the alarm rings. Early morning.

Apple just launched the official Instagram account @apple, where minimalism rules their bio. It says: “Welcome to @apple. Tag #ShotoniPhone to take part.” With these few words Apple invites self-thought photographers to share their photos with Apple. If you’re lucky, Apple will repost your perfect shot. There’s just one thing you need to do: take a picture with your iPhone, and add #ShotOniPhone.

Something Youngsters are seeking for

About 59% of Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are active on Instagram. The three words “to take part” are magical in their bio, because it fulfils a deep desire of the Youngsters: being a member of a group. It is all about the connectivity of a community of self-thought photographers. Everyone has at least the same phone, which makes it easy to take part, and is proud of the ‘magical’ quality such a camera can deliver. The Instagram-filter makes it look even more beautiful and professional. The ones with an outraging photograph get rewarded with a repost on the official Instagram of Apple. And like I said before: the Instagram page has already touched the 500K followers, so you won’t stay unnoticed…

Change in communication

Instagram counts 400 million daily active users. It means that we cannot deny that we adore visual communication. One of the first signs of the change from textual toward visual communication was the most used word according to the Global Language Monitor in 2014. It wasn’t a word. It was an emoji: the heart ❤️.

So here we are. It took three days to have about half a million followers which results in more than a million shares of photos with hashtag #ShotoniPhone”. Visual communication is easy to consume, because you don’t need to read the words. Reading costs time and time is very rare. At the same time a bunch of youngsters are spending their time on social media. Even though social media isn’t real life and these youngsters are still far apart, it gives a bonding. It is all about being connected, being social, being part of a group, and still being your unique self.